CBC Books Announces Nonfiction Prize Shortlist, with a Focus on Family History and Mental Health

This morning, CBC Books announced the five finalists vying for the prestigious CBC Nonfiction Prize.

The prize is part of a suite of writing prizes at CBC that also includes a poetry award and short story prize, all of which have a track record of celebrating talented authors early in their writing life, with many going on to publish widely and to great acclaim - including heavyweights like Michael Ondaatje and Carol Shields, who both won the nonfiction prize early in their careers.

The prize is presented in partnership with the Canada Council for the Arts, which supplies the $6,000 grand prize, and the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, which provides a two-week residency where the winner will have the chance to work on a writing project with the support and focus available at the centre. Each remaining finalist receives a $1,000 honorarium from the Canada Council in recognition of their achievement. 

The 2019 CBC Nonfiction Prize Finalists:

• Jenny Boychuk of Victoria, B.C. for "Slow Violence"
• Larry Gibbs of King, Ont. for "The Boondock Harvest 1966"
• Kathleen May de Vries of Huntsville, Ont. for "The Long Driveway"
• Tracey McGillivray of Toronto, Ont. for "To the Uninitiated"
• Emily Stillwell of Toronto, Ont. for "The Birthday Party"

You can read all the nominated pieces on CBC Books' website via the links above. The narratives explore grief and loss, family history, abuse and survival, mental health, and more. The jurors, Harold R. Johnson, Elizabeth Renzetti and Mark Sakamoto, whittled down the list to just the five finalists from over 2200 submissions received from across Canada. 

The winner of the CBC Nonfiction Prize will be announced on September 25, 2019.